PARIS (Reuters) - A top French minister on Wednesday attacked the United States' handling of an aerial tanker contract, which has seen Europe's EADS <EAD.PA> drop out of the race, and said the matter was not over yet.
"This has gone beyond acceptable," said France's European Affairs Minister ...More
By Clara Ferreira-Marques
LONDON (Reuters) - State-owned Northern Rock shrank its losses in 2009, helped by a lower bad debt charge in the second half as house prices stabilized, but arrears rose and the lender warned loan impairments would stay high in 2010.
"We still think the recovery is going to ...More
MUNICH/ZURICH (Reuters) - Last month's huge earthquake in Chile might cost the insurance industry up to $7 billion in damage claims, the world's top two reinsurers said, but it looks unlikely to raise reinsurance prices.
World leader Munich Re <MUVGn.DE> said it expected the 8.8 magnitude ...More
BEIJING/GENEVA (Reuters) - China is setting up a new agency to help streamline its trade negotiating bureaucracy as the world's third-largest economy faces a growing number of commercial disputes.
The new China Trade Representative office (CTR) will absorb a tangle of offices that have overlapping influence on trade matters ...More
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The parent of China's Geely Automobile <0175.HK> has secured financing to buy Ford-owned Volvo cars for about 15 billion Swedish crowns ($2.10 billion), a Swedish business daily reported on Wednesday.
Dagens Industri, citing sources, said that Chinese financial institutions and regional government bodies had provided ...More
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese exports and imports grew faster than expected in February, underlining the momentum behind the world's third-largest economy and reinforcing the case for a rise in the yuan.
Economists cautioned against over-interpreting the figures, which were skewed by the timing of the long Lunar New Year holiday ...More
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss Re <RUKN.VX> said on Wednesday the insurance sector stood to lose $4-$7 billion from the earthquake in Chile, a sum unlikely to bring the long hoped-for increase in reinsurance prices.
The world's second-biggest reinsurer estimated its own losses from the Chile disaster, one of ...More
(Reuters) - American International Group Inc <AIG.N> has formulated a new "forced ranking" system to determine bonuses and rate employee performance, Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.
AIG, which was bailed out by the U.S. government at the height of global financial crises in 2008 ...More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. economists raised their forecast for economic growth in 2010 in March, the third straight monthly rise, while trimming their growth forecast for 2011, according to a survey released on Wednesday.
Economists surveyed earlier this month in the Blue Chip Economic Indicators newsletter said the economy is ...More
NEW YORK/CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Bank of America said on Tuesday it will no longer charge overdraft fees on debit card purchases as of this summer, a move that may cost millions in fee income.
The change will eliminate one of the most common overdraft charges for Bank of ...More
